Many garments are finished, transported, distributed and sold while mounted upon a hanger. Management of these hangers, particularly at the store distribution center and garment sales point is time consuming, distracting, and often creates a difficult storage problem. The typical triangular-shaped hanger, including a top hook, is simply an awkward article to handle. In quantity, the hangers tend to become entangled and are difficult to stack in any organized manner. Many stores handle a variety of shapes and sizes of hangers, further adding to the inconvenience.
It is known to use hanger storage assemblies for retaining and managing quantities of empty hangers. For example, FIG. 1 shows an existing hanger storage assembly disclosed by Hall et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,355. The main components of this device include a hanger bar 11 that receives and supports a plurality of hangers 12, and a retainer bar 13. The retainer bar 13 is positionable adjacent to the hanger bar 11 to engage and secure a plurality of hooks 12a along the length of the hanger bar 11. The retainer bar 13 is typically a rigid channel member fitted with a strip 21 of resilient material (shown in FIG. 2) to accommodate and secure hangers 12 having differing diameters or configurations. Adjacent ends of the hanger bar 11 and the retainer bar 13 are coupled together by a vertical support member 15.
As best shown in FIG. 2, each vertical support member 15 includes a guide pin 16 that is rigidly fixed to the hanger bar 11 by means of a threaded bolt 16a that passes through apertures 17 in the hanger bar 11 and threads into internal threads in the guide pin 16. A spring 18 is disposed on the guide pin 16 between the hanger bar 11 and the retainer bar 13. The spring 18 biases the retainer bar 13 away from the hanger bar 11 to provide sufficient access to easily and conveniently load the hanger bar 11. A cap nut 20 is fitted to the guide pin 16 above the retainer bar 13 to limit travel of the retainer bar 13 away from the hanger bar 11.
The retainer bar 13 of the prior art hanger storage assembly is held into securing, hanger clamping engagement with the hooks 12a by means of a pair of latches 22, each of which includes a resilient tab 23 fixed to end caps 24 mounted on the hanger bar 11. The resilient tab 23 is biased against the end of the retainer bar 13 by a biasing force provided by the resilient characteristic of the tab material. The tab 23 engages the retainer bar with sufficient tension such that it holds the retainer bar 13 in position in opposition to, and overcoming the biasing spring 18 which tends to urge the retainer bar 13 away from the hanger bar 11. As best seen in FIG. 1, each end cap 24 is engaged by a bracket clip 27 that is mounted on a bracket base 28. The clips 27 match the polygonal shape of the end caps 24, preventing the hanger bar 11 from rotating out of useful alignment.
Although desirable results have been achieved, the prior art hanger storage assembly has several disadvantages. Inadvertent bumping or striking of the resilient tab 23 or the vertical support member 15 during use often causes the resilient tab 23 to unintentionally disengage from the retainer bar 13, thereby releasing the hangers. Also, because the vertical support member 15 penetrates through the hanger bar 11, manufacturing costs are increased because the apertures 17 must be drilled through the hanger bar 11. Manufacturing time and costs are further increased due to the need to threadedly engage the threaded bolt 16a and the cap nut 20 with the guide pin 16. Furthermore, the aesthetic appearance of the prior art assembly sometimes does not meet the standards of customers in the fashion-conscious garment industry.